Dear All,

Last week, we wrote to this list to express our support for a meaningful reform of Section 702 of the United States’ Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Intelligence_Surveillance_Act_of_1978_Amendments_Act_of_2008, which is up for reauthorization at the end of this year. Section 702 is the statute under which the National Security Agency allegedly has authority to conduct the mass surveillance practices that we are challenging in Wikimedia Foundation v. NSA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_v._NSA.

We are writing on this matter again to let you know that we have joined a letter https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/2017-10-02_coalition_letter_section_702_backdoor_search_reform.pdf to the ranking members of the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_Committee_on_the_Judiciary, encouraging specific reforms to Section 702. It was also signed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the American Library Association, PEN America, and many other organizations with a variety of mandates and interests. The letter places special emphasis on closing the “backdoor search” loophole, which allows law enforcement to query certain government surveillance databases for individuals’ personal information in national security investigations without needing to demonstrate probable cause.

As we continue to challenge the constitutionality of “Upstream” mass surveillance practices in Wikimedia Foundation v. NSA, we are also continuing to monitor the effort to press for meaningful reform of Section 702. We believe that closing the backdoor search loophole would be a small step, yet a step in the right direction. For more detail on much-needed reforms to Section 702, see the ACLU’s informational page https://www.aclu.org/issues/national-security/privacy-and-surveillance/warrantless-surveillance-under-section-702-fisa. You can also follow the progress of Wikimedia Foundation v. NSA on the case landing page https://policy.wikimedia.org/stopsurveillance/.

Best, Jan

==

Jan Gerlach Public Policy Manager Wikimedia Foundation *new address (Oct. 2, 2017)*: 1 New Montgomery Street, Suite 1600 San Francisco, CA 94104 jgerlach@wikimedia.org